The ACLU of South Dakota's Communications Director would love to speak with you. Janna Farley handles queries from reporters on local, state, and national civil liberties issues. ACLU of South Dakota team members can provide information and assist journalists by lending important perspectives on issues such as LGBTQ advocacy, abortion rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Contact Janna directly at jfarley@aclu.org.
The South Dakota Office of Hearing Examiners affirmed last month that the Oglala Sioux Tribe could not be required to pay the City of Martin’s legal fees to receive public records. Unfortunately, in that same decision, the examiner failed to protect the Tribe’s sovereign immunity.
South Dakota laws already place significant requirements on how ballot measures are publicly presented. House Bill 1244 infringes on citizens’ rights to gather the thousands of petition signatures necessary to place questions on statewide ballots.
House Bill 1224 does nothing to directly address the issue that is really risking the lives of pregnant patients: South Dakota's abortion ban.
South Dakota has been heralded as the freest state in the nation – but restricting access to one of the most fundamental rights we have as Americans, participating in our democracy through voting, strips new residents of their freedom to take part in our elections.
Everyone has the right to decide what art or entertainment programs they want – or do not want – to attend or watch. The only thing obscene here is the efforts by some of our elected officials to thwart our First Amendment rights.
Senate Bill 119 would allow Native American voters to register to vote using their Tribal identification on the same par as a state-issued driver’s license.